Scottish ministers have increased the amount they could claw back from councils if they fail to maintain teaching post numbers.
Deputy First Minister John Swinney and education secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville have said £233.5m of funding is conditional on meeting key education goals.
With councils struggling to balance their books, some are looking at axing teacher posts and reducing school hours.
But the cuts clash with a Government aim of increasing the number of teachers.
Somerville said this week if any of the £145.5m earmarked for teachers and support staff was spent elsewhere, the Scottish Government would “withhold or recoup” funding.
She also announced legislative plans for a minimum number of school hours per year to stop councils cutting class time to save money.
In a letter to COSLA, Swinney and Somerville said £151m would be “contingent” on maintaining teacher and pupil support staff numbers based on last year’s census levels.
They added: “A further £45.5 million will also be distributed following confirmation that those conditions have been met in full.”
The remaining £37m will continue to be distributed depending on the number of teachers that receive a place on the Teacher Induction Scheme.
It comes after Susan Aitken, the SNP leader of Glasgow leader, criticised the interventions of ministers in limiting their budgetary decisions.
She wrote in the Glasgow Times: “It is equally true that councils are being constrained further in their efforts by additional limitations placed on our powers by ministers at Holyrood.
“I fully understand the competing demands of other public services such as the NHS or the police. I’m not suggesting local government is funded at their expense. What I am suggesting however is that, like other public services, councils like Glasgow have the flexibility and the trust of ministers to address their local priorities especially given councillors were elected to do that very thing.
“Given the scale of the challenges here in Glasgow, and in the context of the constraints caused by the lack of resources, the budget decisions we face must be taken by the elected members serving the communities which they know best.”
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